How To: Restoration of Ford M8 armoured car US Ordnance number 7373

[Big D]

Hi all,

Just a short update on progress on the M8.

I had some OD paint mixed up by a local vehicle paint specialist, using a Lustreless OD sample provided by Midwest Military. The paint supplied by the local company was a two pack with paint and hardener, with a matting agent in the paint to give it a flat look.

I got some of the painted parts back and the painter and I learnt an interesting lesson in the application of paint with matting agents in it. As you can see, some of the parts have a semi-gloss look to it, while others have the correct flat look. The painter worked out that the best way to apply the paint was by way of a ‘dusting’. When he painted some of the parts like he would have painted a car, layering the paint on a bit heavier, then it came out shinier. I’ve also since heard that too much hardener can have this effect. The finish on the brake backing plate as pictured is bang-on compared to the paint sample I had, so I am happy with the mix. We’ll just have to monitor the application and finish.

We started working on the front floor yesterday. As you will recall, I had two options; one was to tear the armoured floor out and fabricate a new sheet metal floor using the bulge and a couple of other parts from the old floor piece I bought in Europe. Option 2 was to leave the armoured floor in place and build it up again to what it would have looked like.

In the end, I have gone with a combination of both. I had already taken out the rear part of the armoured floor as the welds had fractured and needed cleaning up and re-welding. We have used what we could off the old part of the floor which was the diff bulge and spigot for the steering box shaft and the mount for the foot accelerator pedal. We have aligned everything as it should be and are in the process of stitch welding the remnants of the old floor onto the underside of the armoured floor.

We have also created a flange to go around the top of the floor around the join between the bulge and the armoured floor. We will mig weld around this to create a seam and then use a sealer to seal it off underneath. It should look nice and tidy once I clean the welding up with a flap disc.

I figured there was just too much time and cost involved in gouging out the armoured floor, cleaning up the hull and then recreating almost from scratch a new sheet metal floor with the bulge placed into it.

I'll post some more pictures next week after we've finished the welding.